aslake
English
Etymology
From Middle English aslaken, from Old English āslacian (“to become slack, decline, diminish, grow tired, make slack, loosen, relax, dissolve”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + *slakōną (“to become useless, weak, or slow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lēg- (“soft, weak”), equivalent to a- + slake. Cognate with Dutch slaken (“to heave”), Swedish sloka (“to wilt, droop”), Danish slukke (“to quench, allay, slake”). More at slake.
Verb
aslake (third-person singular simple present aslakes, present participle aslaking, simple past and past participle aslaked)
- (transitive, intransitive, rare or obsolete) To abate; diminish.
- (transitive, intransitive, rare or obsolete) To moderate; mitigate; appease; satisfy.
- The beast that prowls about in search of blood, / Or reptile that within the treacherous brake / Waits for the prey, upcoiled, its hunger to aslake. ― Southey, Paraguay.
Translations
mitigate — see mitigate
Anagrams
- Akelas, akelas